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Though intended to address mainly state issues, the debates would take on a national tone as the two candidates discussed the future of slavery in America. Douglas, one of the most influential men in the Senate, favored a solution that would allow popular sovereignty in disputed areas, encouraging each territory or state to decide the future of slavery by itself, while Lincoln argued for a national solution.

Deciding to meet in seven of the state’s nine voting districts, the candidates agreed to alternate speaking order with each location. One would be allowed to speak for an hour, followed by an hour-and-a-half rebuttal, and then a final 30-minute response.

The first debate was held Aug. 21, 1858, in Ottawa, a town in northern Illinois. Between 10,000 and 12,000 people watched as Douglas accused Lincoln of trying to “abolitionize” the Whig and Democratic parties, while Lincoln responded that Douglas was trying to nationalize slavery.

The ensuing six debates would cover similar ground. Though they touched on issues of trade, expansion and a faltering economy, the debates focused mostly on the issue of slavery.

Reported in papers across the country, with narratives varying wildly according to the allegiances of each publication, the state election became the focus of a wider, national debate.

Abraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was born on Feb. 12, 1809, in Kentucky. He moved to Indiana and to Illinois, working various odd jobs and educating himself. He became a postmaster in 1833 and began to study law around the same time. He soon won a reputation for being an effective lawyer and debater—one that would only be furthered with Lincoln’s showing in the Lincoln-Douglas debates.

“Honest Abe” became the nation’s 16th president in 1861. His term was one of the most tumultuous in the country’s history, seeing the secession of the South, the Civil War and the emancipation of slaves. A few weeks after his second inaugural ball, on April 14, 1865, Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C.